Michael Vick leads Jets on only TD drive in 13-10 win over Colts

The Jets Michael Vick and Geno Smith both put points up on the board Thursday night in limited action.

EAST RUTHERFORD – Even on the back side of his career, Michael Vick can provide the kind of moment that cuts through the boredom of August football and makes it bearable, if only for a fleeting few seconds.

He did Thursday night in his first appearance as a Jet. Facing a third-and-9 at his own 41-yard line in the second quarter, Vick couldn’t find an open receiver. So he did what he’s done so many times before.

Vick, who got a big ovation when he entered the game, scrambled for 15 yards to jump-start the Jets’ only touchdown drive of the night. It was the most exciting moment of the Jets’ 13-10 victory over Indianapolis in the preseason opener for both teams at MetLife Stadium.

The game seemed destined for overtime until undrafted free agent Andrew Furney hit a 51-yard field goal with 1:08 left. Franklin Lakes’ Matt Simms, who quarterbacked the Jets throughout the second half, went 2-for-2 for 16 yards on the nine-play, 28-yard drive to the winning kick.

But the focal points were Vick and starter Geno Smith. The Jets clearly are grooming the second-year pro Smith to be the starter, having given him the bulk of the first-team snaps during practice this summer.

Smith, who played the first two series, was solid but unspectacular. He went 4-for-6 for 33 yards and ran once for 10 yards on a read-option play, giving him 43 yards of total offense.

But Vick (3-for-6, 17 yards) did something Smith couldn’t. He got the Jets into the end zone.

Yes, Vick and the Jets were helped on the drive by two 15-yard penalties on the Colts’ second-string defense. But Vick converted a fourth-and-4 from the 8-yard-line with a 6-yard pass to fullback Tommy Bohanon. Two plays later, free-agent signee Chris Johnson scored on a cutback run from the 1 to tie the score at 10.

“It’s an advantage for us,” Vick said of the mobility of the Jets’ quarterbacks, “and we just want to try to exploit that against a defense.”

“You can have [the receivers] all covered,” coach Rex Ryan said, referring to Vick’s scramble, “but you better account for the quarterback.”

Smith said he was “encouraged” by the way the offense played, adding, “I played two series and did OK, but [I’ve] got to get better.”

So does the Jets’ defense. The starters allowed all 10 of Indianapolis’ points, although defensive play-caller Ryan deflected blame from the unit.
Ryan said, “I’ll take responsibility for how the defense played in the first half.”

He likely was referring to the fact he used mostly vanilla schemes, and also often left his cornerbacks in man-to-man coverage to see how they would fare. Free-agent signee Dimitri Patterson had a rough time, including giving up a 45-yard reception to reserve wideout Da’Rick Rogers.

Second-year pro Dee Milliner held up much better, and had two pass breakups, including one in the end zone against Donte Moncrief. However, that Colts’ drive ended with a 12-yard scoring pass from Matt Hasselbeck to running back Daniel Herron. Ryan indicated the touchdown was the result of a miscommunication on defense.

BRIEFS: RB Chris Ivory (ribs) and WR David Nelson (hand) left the game and didn’t return. Ryan said Ivory was fine and Nelson said he would have come back had it been a regular-season contest. WR Greg Salas (hip) and RB Bilal Powell (hamstring) sat out. … Safety Mike Adams, a Paterson native who played for Denver in the Super Bowl, made his debut for the Colts after signing with them during the off-season. … Former Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw, who missed most of last season with a neck injury, was a healthy scratch for Indianapolis, as was former Jets safety LaRon Landry. … Johnson had four carries for 2 yards and two receptions for 16 yards. Fellow free-agent import Eric Decker had two catches for 12 yards. … Simms, who is No. 3 on the depth chart ahead of sixth-round pick Tajh Boyd, finished 13-for-18 for 96 yards. Boyd did not play, nor did first-year TE Chris Pantale (Wayne Valley) and rookie LB Steele Divitto (Don Bosco). … Indianapolis starting QB Andrew Luck played only one series and went 4-for-5 for 53 yards.